1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for identifying pharmaceuticals or controlled substances. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for identifying pharmaceuticals or controlled substances, or determining if pharmaceuticals or controlled substances are present in a chemical compound using spectroscopic analysis and/or machine vision.
2. Background Information
When a patient is admitted to a hospital, the patient may bring along one or more medications they are taking. Generally, the hospital will not allow the patient to take the medications they have brought. Instead, they will verify the prescription, have one of their physicians prescribe the same pharmaceuticals, and dispense the new pharmaceuticals from their own pharmacy. Hospitals do allow patients to use the pharmaceuticals they brought, because they cannot verify that what the patient brought is what was prescribed. In other words, hospitals cannot easily identify a pharmaceutical that a patient brings with them to the hospital.
Similarly, when a patient presents at an emergency room, the patient may bring along a pharmaceutical, controlled substance, or chemical compound that was recently taken. The medication a patient brings can be helpful and sometimes crucial in helping to treat the patient. Unfortunately, pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, or chemical compounds are not easily identified in an emergency room setting.
In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a substantial need exists for systems and methods that can perform pharmaceutical, controlled substance, or chemical compound identification quickly, easily, and accurately in any setting.
Before one or more embodiments of the invention are described in detail, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction, the arrangements of components, and the arrangement of steps set forth in the following detailed description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.